Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct/most appropriate options:

1. For nearly a year now, many in Sri Lanka have been fervently chanting three letters — IMF (International Monetary Fund). As the country’s familiar balance of payments problem escalated last year, citizens experienced crippling shortages and painfully long power cuts. They took to the streets in a staggering mass protest and _______ the Rajapaksas, who they held responsible for their suffering. The chant, seeking IMF support, persisted through these dramatic developments. In July 2022, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President, through an urgent parliamentary vote. One of the first tasks he set for himself was to negotiate an IMF deal to resurrect the country’s battered economy. Sri Lanka entered a staff-level agreement with the Fund on September 1, 2022.

2. What could potentially make a difference this time is the IMF’s emphasis on fixing Sri Lanka’s corruption vulnerabilities, which has been a rallying point for many Sri Lankan economists and policy analysts. It is corruption that led Sri Lanka to this precipice in the first place, they argue. Corruption, coupled with the state’s tendency to implement “populist” welfare programmes that are “unsustainable”, made the country’s economy fragile over time, in their view. So much so that 16 of the past IMF agreements could not turn the tables for Sri Lanka. Critics of the IMF, a very small minority in Sri Lanka, see an IMF package as part of the problem, not the solution. They worry that the austerity measures that come attached with it will be a deadly blow to the people, especially the country’s working class which is worst affected by this crisis. Apart from that, there is no raging public debate on, or popular resistance to, the IMF within Sri Lanka unlike in say, Argentina in recent times. On the IMF package, the average Sri Lankan is preoccupied more with when it might come through, rather than whether the country really needs it. Even worker unions, currently protesting against the sharp increase in taxes and utility bills — introduced by the government in anticipation of the IMF programme — are resisting only the specific policy measures that are hurting them. Otherwise, they appear reconciled to yet another IMF-led reform agenda, an “inevitable, bitter pill”, as it is often projected.

3. Over the last year, poor families have been forced to reduce their food intake drastically. Soaring prices have kept eggs, fish, and meat out of reach for many, raising concern among medical practitioners over nutrition levels in the community. With inflation persisting at over 50%, half of the families in Sri Lanka are forced to reduce the amount they feed their children, the humanitarian organisation Save the Children found in a recent survey. Additionally, they warned of a “full-blown hunger crisis”. The World Food Programme, in its January update, estimated that 33% of Sri Lankan households are food insecure. Irrespective of when the IMF programme kicks in, and how much more money Sri Lanka can borrow after that, it will be a rather rocky road before possible recovery. The country is currently witnessing a new wave of protests, mainly by workers and professionals, as people’s economic hardships increase. The government also faces criticism for the recent postponement of local body elections, even as multiple surveys point to a significant rise in support for opposition parties. But for those looking for policy coherence, such as the business community, the Wickremesinghe administration symbolises a version of stability. Democracy can wait, they contend since economic recovery is urgent. For many others, Mr. Wickremesinghe, who lost his mandate in the last general election and rose to power with the support of the widely despised Rajapaksas’ party, represents the continuity of a political order they fought to change. They see the election as a vital barometer that will reflect this sentiment.